Path to Transcendence

Fiona Crysalia POV

Fiona was on her way to meet with one of her people. Although she was primarily there to celebrate her daughter, she also had some business in Heston to take care of. There had been some surprising news about the Alliance of the Morning Sun.

Halom Anderaz, the new leader of the Alliance, had been making some moves in the Empire's territory. At least that was what Logan had messaged to her a few days ago. That was why she was on her way to meet him. He had been investigating what was going on.

While she didn't care all that much about the Empire and the Royal Family, she recognized that since she primarily lived in the Empire, she had some responsibilities to make sure opposing countries didn't negatively affect her own life.

So when she heard that the Alliance of the Morning Sun was trying to buy up a lot of her mana crystals discreetly, she couldn't help but get curious. Nobody bought that many crystals unless they were planning to power something extraordinarily large or to artificially manipulate the market.

It was only thanks to Logan that she managed to find out in time. Honestly, the number wasn't too large to be really concerning, but there was something amiss about the timing, and she wanted to figure out what was going on before it was too late.

As she walked toward her meet-up, she thought back on her recent interaction with the boy Aubrey had befriended recently. That young boy tried hard to hide it, but she was able to sense the alarmingly dangerous aura he had hidden beneath the surface.

She had heard that the boy was strong. She made sure to have her people investigate the boy the moment her daughter had mentioned him. She knew that there were plenty of people who would go to extreme lengths just to foster a positive relationship with her, even if it meant going through her daughter to do so.

It was why she thoroughly investigated everyone her daughter interacted with. However, she was surprised at how little her people were able to find out about the young boy. According to what they could find, Julius had shown up in Heston out of nowhere.

He had some contacts with the city guard, and Declan Griffin recommended him to Goldencrest. She also found out that he had a good relationship with Gabriel Kellar, someone she had been keeping her eye on. She wasn't the only one, either. Gabriel Kellar had made quite the name for himself a few years ago, and she had recently learned that the man had finally advanced to Tier 5, despite growing a family.

She thought he had a good chance of advancing to Tier 6 eventually. Quite the impressive feat, and one she couldn't say about everyone.

Thus if someone like that found Julius interesting enough to befriend, there must be something intriguing about the boy beneath the surface. It was why she kept a close eye on the boy. To her amusement, she found that he was full of surprises the longer examined him.

At some point, he managed to cripple his soul far beyond what someone his age and strength should be able to. At least that was according to her daughter.

Aubrey had pleaded with her to find a way to heal the boy, but at the time, Fiona hadn't been planning to help all that much. She had given the boy an item that would help, but it wasn't everything she could do.

If she wanted to, she could have given the boy some treasures that would have not only healed his soul but empowered it far beyond what it had once been. Of course, those treasures came with certain drawbacks, which was why she hadn't given them to Aubrey, but they still would have been valuable to almost everyone else.

Then to her astonishment, Julius somehow managed to heal his soul. Her daughter never told her exactly how he did it, but from what Fiona could discern, it was from the boy's own efforts. Which was extremely curious. Not many people would be able to do that.

Either the damage wasn't as bad as Aubrey had explained, or something else occurred. Now meeting him in person, she assumed that it was the latter.

Like she said, his aura showed many signs of tempering. Yes, there was a destructive element to it, but there were also markings of tribulation and death—something she only saw in people who went through life-threatening events and came out stronger.

His disappearance several months ago along with the princess had further surprised her. However she was even more surprised at how distraught her daughter had become when it happened. Apparently, her and her friends had adopted this boy into their friend group quite easily and his loss hit them hard.

She wasn't going to complain about their closeness, though. She was convinced that Julius was a big reason why her daughter suddenly became more motivated and stronger in a short period. It was to the extent that she was having second thoughts about Aubrey's talents. There was a real chance that Aubrey could work her way up the ranks and reach Tier 5 in a short period if she kept this up.

Then, after months of silence, the boy shows back up with the princess in tow. Somehow even stronger than ever and at Tier 3.

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He then went on to effortlessly beat many young students who were considered quite talented, even by her standards. Liam Abrams, Irene Graves, Bethany Jacobs, Darren Silum, and especially her own daughter were no simple opponents.

From their initial meeting, she could tell he was skilled and level-headed. He was also someone she thought would be good for Aubrey. He would push her far beyond what she would normally be capable of if she wanted to keep up.

She was almost certain she felt several strong Concepts interwoven into the boy's aura along with its already dangerous destruction aspect power. Concepts were always a good indicator of talent and hard work. Those who had good ones, almost always went on to become strong no matter their tier.

If Aubrey really wanted to go on an adventure in the Endless Forest in a couple of weeks, she would feel much more comfortable if she had someone like Julius alongside her. The Endless Forest was dangerous even at its most peaceful.

Unlike other places, there wasn't a way to safely escape the forest. The chaotic nature of the forest created an isolated environment that made it nearly impossible for any teleportation circles to be set up. Spatial tools were heavily limited, and it would be next to impossible for Aubrey to call for help if she needed it.

That wasn't even talking about the incoming monster flood that was bound to happen in the coming years.

But she had to recognize that it would be an essential opportunity for Aubrey to get stronger. Fiona knew better than anyone that one needed challenges to grow. She didn't become the Crystal Tyrant because she played it safe.

If it wasn't for Aubrey's recent improvements, Fiona would not have allowed her to go. But this was Aubrey's chance to prove herself, and she would be a terrible mother if she took this opportunity away from her. Thus, she would let her go and make sure to keep an eye on this Julius boy as well.

But in the meantime, she had some investigating to do, and she really hoped that the Alliance of the Morning Sun wasn't up to no good.

***

Julius POV

Sadly, Julius wasn't able to meet everyone's family. Derek's family had to leave immediately after the ceremony as did Kyle's. He did get to meet Edgar's family though. While transportation from their little town all the way to Heston was difficult and expensive, Lily had her family help so that Edgar could see his family.

House Violet sent one of their space mages to personally transport them since there wasn't a transportation circle set up in their town. It was a nice thing to do for Edgar, and Julius could tell the big guy appreciated it.

Edgar's parents were very normal people. They were both Tier 3, but honestly, Julius wouldn't be surprised if they managed to advance to Tier 4 in the future. They each seemed to have a solid aura and foundation based on what he was able to sense initially.

His father looked almost exactly like Edgar, just a bit older. His sun-worn skin and calloused hands showed that he was a hard worker, but he was still handsome. His mother was absolutely charming as well. She was so nice to Julius and even gave him some treats, which automatically placed her high on his list of favorite people.

Sadly, they needed to leave soon afterward. It was harvest season, and they were swamped this time of year.

"You're mother is so nice," Julius said to Edgar while chewing on the delicious cookies she had given him.

"I know, right?" Aubrey said while eating her own cookies next to him. Aubrey's mother had to go meet with someone for a few hours, but she had said that she would be staying in Heston for a day or two, so Julius would likely see her again.

"Where's Lily? I haven't seen her," Julius said wonderingly.

"I saw her for a brief moment, and she said she would be back in a little bit. Apparently, Alice needed to show her something," Kyle told them.

Aubrey frowned. "Show her something?" She asked while spraying crumbs everywhere.

"Yeah, I wonder what it is?" Edgar noted.

Kyle shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't ask, but I had a feeling that it was a graduation gift or something."

Julius nodded, he expected something of that nature. He was curious what she got though, it must have been pretty nice. He couldn't imagine what it might be if it required Alice to take her somewhere.

Speaking of Alice, he wanted to speak with her now that he had his very own Space Concept. He also wanted to ask her for some advice on what skill to pick for his [Flash Step] upgrade. Maybe she might have a good idea what skill he should go with and if [Void Step] was a good choice.

However, since they were waiting for Lily to return, they all decided to talk about the plans for next week. Julius knew they had all been talking about going on an adventure together and their first choice was the Endless Forest.

A place that Julius had heard some nasty things about. Things that made him very excited.

Apparently, the lord whose apprentice had interrupted Julius's fight offered Derek an opportunity to train there. While it wasn't possible to set up teleportation arrays throughout the forest, it was still possible to set up some forward operating bases.

Lord Holten offered Derek and his friends to come to a particular area that was good for Tier 3s to work their way to Tier 4. They likely wouldn't get to Tier 4 in the time between now and the Inter-School Tournament, but it should help them progress nicely regarding their Emblems.

By the time the tournament rolled around, as long as they survived, they would come out much stronger. The only thing that concerned Julius was whether he really wanted to join them.

As much as he loved them, he couldn't help but feel like delving on his own.

A part of this feeling came from not wanting to be responsible for his friend's safety. There was added pressure that his mistakes could put his friends in danger. When he was alone, he didn't have to worry about this. He could make a mistake or take a risk, and the only person who had to pay for that was him.

When their lives were on the line as well, that was different, and he didn't know if he liked that. With that being said, he already knew which direction he was leaning toward, but in the meantime, he would listen to what they had to say and officially make his choice when the time came.